VR is impressive to watch — but it is less impressive to purchase
Many people probably have experience of VR second-hand, rather than from the comfort of their own home. A casual demo in a gaming convention here, or a half hour spent on someone else’s setup there — the interest exists, but the demand does not.
The titles already coming out for it are getting better and better, and have already contributed to a branch of Youtubers focusing on VR content. VRChat, Beat Saber and Half Life: Alyx have been raising the bar — and the popularity — of VR for some time to come. Why, then, have we not seen more people with these setups? For all of its promising and entertaining features, it still sits firmly in what I call ‘spectator software’: the kind of technology that is appreciated for most people by watching someone else demonstrate what can be done: someone else who has the time and the resources available to actually implement what is currently a very obtuse form of entertainment.
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Rob Fahey of Games Industry argues that a battle of formats threatens to block the VR industry from ever venturing beyond the realm of a niche technology trick. Currently, he says, the route into VR gaming involves research similar to the kind you might make in trying to build your own PC, being sure to dodge the pitfalls that might mean you end up with a pricey VR headset that isn’t compatible with the game you wanted to try out, let alone the kind of system you’ll need in order to run VR effectively in the first place.
He likens it to something of a Wild West-style marketplace, where competing manufacturers are eager to stab each other in the back for a formidable slice of the pie, albeit a very undercooked pie. Some Oculus titles are restricted not only to the Oculus store but to Oculus headsets as well, a console-inspired move that has less of a place in PC gaming.
I agree with him in that this sort of competition is not a healthy environment for many people trying to get into some of the bigger VR releases out at the moment, but I think that there is a bigger elephant are in the VR space than that.
For many people teetering on the edge about whether to buy the kit needed to play with VR, the price is simply too expensive. Why bother paying so much for a select group of games when such a huge library of games exists already? Even if you disregard the steep prices of the type of PC needed to run VR effectively, you’re looking at several hundred more dollars to get the kit and set it up.
I’ve talked to many people who have expressed the wish to get their own VR kit to mess about with, but they are often underresourced: or, at least, are not willing to part with such a significant sum of money (and, in some cases, dedicating the space) for something that still comes with many unknowns. These people are often the type of person the marketing is aimed at: gaming hobbyists who are into these sort of developments. If you include casual players and families into the mix, the combination of cost and unclear instruction makes for a purchasing journey that is more of a twisting route through a forest than a clear path to VR gaming.
Half Life: Alyx brought with it a percentage increase of Steam users with a VR headset from 1.29% to 1.91%. UploadVR.com seems enthusiastic about this — I am less convinced. This is a game where reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, with a total review count of just under 25,000 as of the time of writing. The reception to this game has been mindblowing. Why, then, hasn’t it enabled the shifting of more units? Half Life is probably the Bible of PC gamers who have grown up with Steam. The demand is definitely there. It should be translating into more sales — but it isn’t.
Until the technology is cheaper and easier to set up, in my opinion, these small percentiles will be all that VR gaming will ever see. To me, VR evokes some less-than-pleasant memories of the Kinect. Billed as a generational leap in gaming technology, but in reality being more of a drunken stumble, it was hampered by niche party and sub-standard games often made to get funding from Microsoft rather than from any real commitment to a solid title in itself. I can’t think of any noteworthy Kinect titles that I felt I missed out on, and from looking at some old reviews on Youtube of some titles, I am glad I gave the idea a wide berth. It essentially became something of a gimmicky relic that sank into gaming history with few people mourning its passing.
As harsh as this may seem, the idea of VR as a gaming peripheral still sits in that space for me. Sure, the technology is impressive, and the games are looking more adventurous and cinematic with the likes of Half Life: Alyx busting into the scene, but I can’t shake the ‘gimmick effect’ that I view the technology with. Not until huge steps are taken to make the technology more accessible.
